Journal
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02192-4
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Funding
- Generalitat de Catalunya (CERCA Program) [2017 SGR 86 GRC, 2017 SGR 116 GRC]
- Generalitat de Catalunya [2017 SGR 960]
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences (CoE-Pal, South Africa) [COE2019-PD03, COEPD2020-39]
- Xunta de Galicia, Spain [ED481B 2018/046]
- PIACERI (UniCT)
- [PID2020-117118GB-I00]
- [MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033]
- [PID2020-116908GB-I00]
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The 1-m-tall dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon falconeri from Sicily exemplifies insular dwarfism, with slow growth rates and longevity, reaching maturity at 15 years and living for at least 68 years. This contradicts the 'r-selection' theory and surpasses both its giant sister taxon and its large mainland cousin.
The 1-m-tall dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon falconeri from the Pleistocene of Sicily (Italy) is an extreme example of insular dwarfism and epitomizes the Island Rule. Based on scaling of life-history (LH) traits with body mass, P. falconeri is widely considered to be 'r-selected' by truncation of the growth period, associated with an early onset of reproduction and an abbreviated lifespan. These conjectures are, however, at odds with predictions from LH models for adaptive shifts in body size on islands. To settle the LH strategy of P. falconeri, we used bone, molar, and tusk histology to infer growth rates, age at first reproduction, and longevity. Our results from all approaches are congruent and provide evidence that the insular dwarf elephant grew at very slow rates over an extended period; attained maturity at the age of 15 years; and had a minimum lifespan of 68 years. This surpasses not only the values predicted from body mass but even those of both its giant sister taxon (P. antiquus) and its large mainland cousin (L. africana). The suite of LH traits of P. falconeri is consistent with the LH data hitherto inferred for other dwarfed insular mammals. P. falconeri, thus, not only epitomizes the Island Rule but it can also be viewed as a paradigm of evolutionary change towards a slow LH that accompanies the process of dwarfing in insular mammals.
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